Pitchers and reserves have been named to the American League and National League All-Star Teams, as announced Sunday by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The 2019 AL and NL All-Star rosters were unveiled earlier this evening during the "Google MLB All-Star Selection Show" on ESPN.
In addition to the starters who were elected by the fans, pitchers and reserve players were named to the All-Star Game rosters by the Player Ballot -- a vote of the players, managers and coaches -- and by Major League Baseball. In making the selections, MLB has ensured that each of the 30 Major League Clubs will be represented in the All-Star Game.
American League position players who are invited to the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of Player Balloting are catcher James McCann of the Chicago White Sox; first baseman José Abreu of the White Sox; second baseman Tommy La Stella of the Los Angeles Angels; shortstop Francisco Lindor of the host Cleveland Indians; third baseman Matt Chapman of the Oakland Athletics; outfielders Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox, Austin Meadows of the Tampa Bay Rays and Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers; and designated hitter J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox.
AL pitchers who have made the Midsummer Classic as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros; Lucas Giolito of the White Sox; Charlie Morton of the Rays; Jake Odorizzi of the Minnesota Twins; and Gerrit Cole of the Astros. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Aroldis Chapman of the New York Yankees; Brad Hand of the Indians; and Ryan Pressly of the Astros.
MLB had six selections to fill out the remainder of the AL roster, with five of the six picks being used to represent the five Clubs that did not have an All-Star after the fan and player balloting processes. The four pitchers chosen include reliever Shane Greene of the Detroit Tigers; starter John Means of the Baltimore Orioles; starter Mike Minor of the Texas Rangers; and starter Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays. The two position players among MLB selections are infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals and first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach of the Seattle Mariners.
National League position players who are invited to the 90th Midsummer Classic as a result of Player Balloting are catcher J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies; first baseman Josh Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates; second baseman Mike Moustakas of the Milwaukee Brewers; shortstop Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies; third baseman Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals; and outfielders Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl of the Rockies, and Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets.
NL pitchers who have made the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Max Scherzer of the Nationals; Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds; Jacob deGrom of the Mets; and Walker Buehler of the Dodgers. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Kirby Yates of the San Diego Padres; Josh Hader of the Brewers; and Will Smith of the San Francisco Giants.
MLB had eight selections to fill out the remainder of the NL roster, including for two teams yet to have an All-Star elected by the fans or players.
The four pitchers selected include starter Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins; starter Zack Greinke of the Arizona Diamondbacks; starter Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers; and starter Mike Soroka of the Atlanta Braves. The four position players selected are first baseman Pete Alonso of the Mets; Kris Bryant of the Cubs; shortstop Paul DeJong of the St. Louis Cardinals; and catcher Yasmani Grandal of the Brewers.
The AL West-leading Astros will send a Major League-high six players to Cleveland, while the NL West-leading Dodgers, as well as the Brewers and Rockies each send an NL-high four players. For Houston, it marks the third straight year with six All-Stars, and they are the first team to have at least six in three consecutive seasons since the Red Sox sent at least six players to the All-Star Game in five straight seasons from 2007-11. The Brewers, who had five All-Stars a year ago, are sending at least four players to the Midsummer Classic in consecutive years for the first time since 1982-83.
Three rookies are included on the All-Star rosters, including Alonso and Soroka for the NL, as well as Means for the AL. Alonso becomes the third Mets rookie, and first position player, in franchise history to earn an All-Star berth, joining Hall of Famer Tom Seaver (1967) and Dwight Gooden (1984). Soroka is the first Braves rookie to make the All-Star team since Craig Kimbrel in 2011, while Means is the third Orioles rookie, and first in 59 years, headed to the Midsummer Classic, joining Ron Hansen (1960) and Chuck Estrada (1960).
The trio of rookies are part of a group of 31 All-Stars (16 AL, 15 NL) making their first trip to the Midsummer Classic, and they are also amongst a group of 33 players age 28-or-younger, including 14 players age 25-or-younger headed to Cleveland. This year's starting NL lineup is the youngest in All-Star history with an average age of 25.75, eclipsing the previous youngest of 26.4 by the 2017 AL starting lineup.
Additionally, there are 15 foreign-born players on the All-Star rosters (9 NL, 6 AL), including players from the Dominican Republic (6), Cuba (3), Puerto Rico (2), Venezuela (2), Canada (1) and South Korea (1). Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu is just the fourth Korean-born player to make the All-Star team, joining Shin-Soo Choo (2018), Chan Ho Park (2001) and Byung-Hyun Kim (2002).
Angels outfielder Mike Trout was named to the Midsummer Classic for an eighth consecutive time. He is followed by Washington's Max Scherzer (seven straight) and Colorado's Nolan Arenado (fifth straight). Trout is joined by Kershaw and Verlander as the senior-most All-Stars, each with eight career selections.